Phil The Floor Guy’s Design Guides

How To Care For Hardwood Floors

Let your floor’s natural beauty shine through. Hardwood floor finish provides superior resistance to everyday wear and easy, no-wax maintenance. To keep your floor looking new, follow these simple care steps.

Routine Hardwood Cleaning

What You Should Do:

  • Use a soft cloth to blot spills and spots as soon as they happen. Always avoid allowing liquids to stand on your hardwood floor.
  • Sweep, dust, or vacuum the floor regularly. If vacuuming, use a hard floor attachment to avoid scratching or dulling your floor’s finish
  • Clean the floor with Hard Surface Cleaner, specially formulated to wipe away dirt and soil without damaging your floor’s finish.  

What You Should Not Do:

  • Don’t use oil-based, wax, polish or strong ammoniated products, which can dull your floor’s finish.
  • Don’t use steel wool, scouring powders or other abrasive cleaners, which can scratch or damage your floor’s finish.
  • Don’t wash or wet-mop the floor with soap, water, oil-soap detergent, or any other liquid cleaning material. This could cause swelling, warping, delamination and joint-line separation, and void the warranty.
  • Don’t use any type of buffing machine.

Specialty Hardwood Cleaning:

  • Remove sticky substances, such as candle wax or chewing gum, by applying ice to harden the substance and then gently scraping with a plastic scraper.
    • Tip: A credit card makes a good substitute.
  • Be careful not to scratch the flooring surface.
  • Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
  • Clean tough stains with hardwood surface stain cleaner that you can pick up from Phil the Floor Guy.

Protective Hardwood Floor Care:

  • Use entry mats, which will help collect the dirt, sand, grit, and other substances such as oil, asphalt, or driveway sealer that can be tracked onto your hardwood flooring.
  • To prevent slipping, use an approved vinyl rug underlayment.
    • Tip: Don’t use rubber- or foam-backed plastic mats, as they may discolor the flooring.
  • Use floor protectors and wide-load-bearing leg bases or rollers to minimize indentations and scratches from heavy objects.
    • Tip: As a rule, the heavier the object, the wider the floor protector should be.

Preventative Hardwood Floor Care:

  • Maintain a normal indoor relative humidity level between 35% and 55% throughout the year to minimize the natural expansion and contraction of wood.
    • Follow these tips for the winter and summer months:
      • Heating Season (Dry): A humidifier is recommended to prevent excess shrinkage due to low humidity levels. Wood-stove and electric heat tend to create very dry conditions.
      • Non-Heating Season (Wet): An air conditioner, dehumidifier or periodically turning on your heating system can maintain humidity during the summer months. Avoid excessive exposure to water during periods of inclement weather.
  • Use care with sharp objects.
  • Remove shoes with spiked or damaged heels before walking on your hardwood floor; they can leave scratches or indentations in hardwood.
  • Trim pets’ nails regularly.
  • Rearrange your rugs and furniture periodically to allow the flooring to age evenly.
  • Avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight, which can soften the tone of different species of hardwood to varying degrees and accelerate the oxidation and aging of wood.
  • Protect the floor when moving by using a dolly for heavy furniture or appliances. Never try to slide or roll heavy objects across your hardwood floor.

How To Clean Laminate Floors

Laminate Flooring is naturally durable, making cleaning a breeze. Here, we’re going to give you the crash course on how to care for your Laminate flooring and keep it looking great for years to come. The main thing you should remember is that moisture and wood don’t mix–period. Since our Laminate is made with wood, avoiding its exposure to moisture is a must.

Routine Cleaning Laminate Floors: 

  • Do not use steam cleaners or wet mops, which may cause irreparable damage to your floor.
  • Use a damp cloth to blot up spills as soon as they happen. Never allow liquids to stand on your floor.
  • For tough spots, such as oil, paint, markers, lipstick, ink or tar, use acetone/nail polish remover on a clean white cloth. Then wipe the area with a damp cloth to remove any remaining residue.
  • Sweep, dust, or vacuum the floor regularly with the hard floor attachment (not the beater bar) to prevent the accumulation of dirt and grit that can scratch or dull the floor finish.
  • Periodically clean the floor with cleaning products made specifically for laminate floor care.
  • Do not wash or wet mop the floor with soap, water, oil-soap detergent or any other liquid cleaning product. This could cause swelling, warping, delamination, and joint-line separation, and void the warranty.
  • Avoid using steel wool, abrasive cleaners, or strong ammoniated or chlorinated type cleaners.
  • Do not use any type of buffing or polishing machine on your laminate floors.
  • For spots such as candle wax or chewing gum, harden the spot with ice and then gently scrape with a plastic scraper, such as a credit card. Be careful not to scratch the flooring surface. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
  • A more frequent dust-mopping or vacuuming schedule may be required in very sandy areas such as a beachside home.

How To Keep Your Laminate Flooring Looking Brand New:

  • Entry mats will help collect the dirt, sand, grit, and other substances such as oil, asphalt, or driveway sealer that might otherwise be tracked onto your floor.
  • To prevent slippage of area rugs, use an approved vinyl rug underlayment.
  • Use floor protectors and wide-load bearing leg bases/rollers to minimize the chance of indentations and scratches from heavy objects. As a rule, the heavier the object, the wider the floor protector.
  • Maintain a normal indoor relative humidity level between 35% and 65% throughout the year to minimize the natural expansion and contraction of the wood.
  • Heating season (Dry): A humidifier is recommended to prevent excess shrinkage due to low humidity levels. Woodstove and electric heat tend to create very dry conditions.
  • Non-Heating Season (Wet): An air conditioner, dehumidifier, or periodically turning on your heating will help to maintain humidity during the summer months.
  • Avoid excessive exposure to water during periods of inclement weather.
  • Keep your pets’ nails trimmed to prevent them from scratching your floor.
  • Never try to slide heavy objects across the floor.
  • Use a protective mat for furniture or chairs with castors.

How To Clean A Hard Laminate Surface:

  • Do not wash or wet mop the floor with soap, water, oil-soap detergent, or any other liquid cleaning material. This could cause swelling, warping, delamination, joint-line separation, or other damage that may not be covered by your warranty.
  • Do not use steel wool, abrasive cleaners, or strong ammoniated or chlorinated type cleaners.
  • Do not use any type of buffing or polishing machine.
  • For spots such as candle wax or chewing gum, apply a gel solvent or isopropyl alcohol and let dwell for a few minutes. Gently scrape with a plastic scraper, such as a credit card. Be careful not to scratch the flooring surface. Always clean with neutral cleaner or rinse with water to remove residue.
  • A more frequent dust-mopping or vacuuming schedule may be required in very sandy areas such as a beach home.

Environmental Protection For Laminate Flooring:

  • Entry mats will help collect the dirt, sand, grit, and other substances such as oil, asphalt, or driveway sealer that might otherwise be tracked onto your floor.
  • To prevent slippage of area rugs, use an approved vinyl rug underlayment.
  • Use floor protectors and wide-load bearing leg bases/rollers to minimize the chance of indentations and scratches from heavy objects. As a rule, the heavier the object, the wider the floor protector.
  • Maintain a normal indoor relative humidity level between 35% and 65% throughout the year to minimize the natural expansion and contraction of the wood.
    • Heating season (Dry): A humidifier is recommended to prevent excess shrinkage due to low humidity levels. Woodstove and electric heat tend to create very dry conditions.
    • Non-Heating Season (Wet): An air conditioner, dehumidifier, or periodically turning on your heating will help to maintain humidity levels during the summer months.
  • Avoid excessive exposure to water during periods of inclement weather.
  • Keep your pet’s nails trimmed to prevent them from scratching your floor.
  • Never try to slide heavy objects across the floor.
  • A protective mat should be used for furniture or chairs with castors.

Glue-less Laminate Board Replacement Repairs:

  • Glueless laminate may be assembled and disassembled several times.
  • Carefully disassembled glueless joints will retain their original locking integrity during re-assembly. New replacement plank(s) should be acclimated in the
  • Replacement area for at least 72 hours, to allow them to equalize to the conditions of the flooring in the room where the replacement(s) will take place.
  • Remove baseboard, wall base, or quarter-round as needed to replace the damaged board(s). Take the flooring apart, 1 row at a time, by lifting the rows to detach them, then separating the individual boards.
  • Be sure to stack the individual planks in the proper order for re-installation. This usually eliminates the need to cut planks for start or end of the row lengths.
  • Replace the damaged board with a piece from the edge of the original installation.
  • Insert the properly acclimated new plank(s) along the outer edge of the original flooring installation during re-assembly. This minimizes the chance that a newer plank might stand out from the wear condition of the original installation.
  • Re-install the baseboard, wall base, or quarter round, and the replacement repair is complete.

Minor Laminent Repair Instructions:

In the event that accidental damage occurs to one of the planks, minor scratches or dents can be repaired using a Flooring Touchup or Color-fill Kit. This special touchup kit is a filler material, color-coordinated to the color of your floor that, when used properly, makes repaired areas often invisible. The repaired area will hold up to foot traffic and wear just like the rest of your laminate flooring.

How To Care For Vinyl Floors

Caring for Your New Luxury Vinyl Floor:

Congratulations on your new luxury vinyl floor! Protect your investment with these simple care tips.

Immediately following installation

During the first 48 hours after installation:

  • Keep foot traffic to a minimum (recommended).
  • Sweep the floor to remove loose dirt.
  • Use only a non-abrasive cleaner, such as Shaw Floors Hard Surface Cleaner.
  • Do not use a vacuum with a rotating beater bar.
  • Wait 24 hours before putting furniture on the floor (for glue down products).

Following these instructions will ensure proper curing of the product:

  • Use protective mats
    • It is important to use a good quality entry mat to trap dirt, sand, and other substances such as oil that would otherwise be tracked onto your floor. These mats will also help protect your flooring from premature wear. Mats are also suggested at heavy pivot locations, such as in front of your kitchen sink or stove. If mats are placed directly on top of the resilient floors, use mats without latex or rubber backings to avoid possible discoloration.
  • Use chair and appliance pads to protect your vinyl floor
    • Make sure furniture legs have a large surface, non-staining floor protectors. Replace small, narrow metal or dome-shaped glides with smooth, flat guides that are in full contact with the floor. Heavy furniture or appliances that are not moved often should be equipped with flat, non-staining composition furniture casters or cups of appropriate size.
  • Follow a simple maintenance plan
    • The type and frequency of foot traffic on your luxury vinyl floor will determine the frequency of maintenance needed. Regular attention to a simple maintenance program should include:
    • Remove dirt and grit by sweeping or dust mopping daily.
    • Wipe up spills as quickly as possible.
    • Avoid exposure to direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time.